Iranian nuclear negotiator and presidential election hopeful Saeed Jalili said Iran does not recognize the Zionist entity as a state or even the "red line" determined by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu

Iranian nuclear negotiator and presidential election hopeful Saeed Jalili said Iran does not recognize the Zionist entity as a state or even the "red line" determined by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

In an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday, Jalili vowed to continue production of 20% enriched uranium, and said the Islamic Republic only wants to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, under the rights granted in the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

"We have said that what has been produced is for our domestic and pharmaceutical needs. [Western powers] see that the fuel is [produced] under the supervision of IAEA inspectors in Fordow and Natanz [enrichment facilities] and they see this is used for peaceful purposes," he said.

"We do not want anything beyond [Iran’s rights under] the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty]. We naturally expect to enjoy our rights under the NPT. The main question is why they [the major powers] do not recognize Iran’s right to uranium enrichment under the NPT," Jalili added.

Jalili also expressed confidence that if he were to be elected president in next month's election, he would not have any problem recovering the Iranian economy from the burden of sanctions imposed on it by Western nations.

"At least over the past few years when I have been carefully following the effects of sanctions, I see that they can be easily bypassed and turned into opportunities," he said.

He also harshly criticized the US, dismissing the possibility of holding direct talks with Washington to resolve the nuclear stalemate.

"The US has seriously obstructed the goals and wishes of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation, which cannot be denied... The Iranian nation’s behavior over the past 34 years shows that the US cannot do whatever it wants," he said.

Jalili accused the US of inconsistency in handling of the nuclear stalemate. "The US seriously opposed Iran’s nuclear program when they thought they had no rival in the world. But then they said they were seeking international consensus, but that did not succeed, either. Then again they went back to unilateral moves. This shows the US’s confusion," he said.